


Deviation in Plans

by Fly_Kitty7000



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Aftermath of a Case, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst and Humor, Angst with a Happy Ending, Case Fic, Case Gone Wrong, Conflicted Emotions, Emotions, Established Relationship, Eventual Fluff, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hermaphrodites, Intersex, Kidnapping, M/M, Male Homosexuality, Male Slash, Missions Gone Wrong, Mpreg, OOC, Out of Character, Panic Attacks, Post-Case, Psychological Trauma, Rape, Rape Aftermath, Rape Baby, Rape Recovery, Rape/Non-con Elements, Rescue, Rescue Missions, Torture, Unexpected Pregnancy, Unplanned Pregnancy, pregnancy from rape
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-24
Updated: 2016-09-06
Packaged: 2018-04-16 23:57:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4644819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fly_Kitty7000/pseuds/Fly_Kitty7000
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Spencer Reid has everything he could have dreamed of: a good job, great friends, and a wonderful boyfriend named Derek Morgan.  However, when he gets kidnapped, he is unprepared for what happens to him.  Can he survive the lasting consequences of his captivity, or will it be a deviation of plans he simply cannot handle?</p><p>A/N: The noncon isn't described graphically (it's really almost in passing).  The main part of the story is what happens BEFORE and AFTER the rape.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Spending the Night

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! I know that everyone is probably expecting me to update my stories that are already posted, but I've had this one banging around and laying in my computer for a while, so I decided to just post for this one when I could. Apparently I have a thing for mpreg as a consequence of kidnapping and torture. But oh well! As with my other stories, I write Spencer as shorter and with a higher voice than he has in the show, but if that's not your bag, read him however you'd like (it won't affect story quality very much)! Also, Spencer is intersexed. Again, as with my other mpreg stories, the fake categories of intersex people that I use will be listed in a note at the end of the first chapter. Other than that, I just hope that you like this and that you won't hate me too badly for posting yet another WIP lol :)
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds or any of the characters therein. I just take them and do what I want with them (which is why they may read a little OOC even though I always try to keep each character's center, or what makes them the way they are, unless otherwise noted). If you don't like the story, please don't read it. All hateful comments or flames will be immediately deleted or marked as spam. I do, however, accept and welcome constructive criticism, opinions, and other comments as long as they are made in good taste. Thank you for reading and being respectful to me, as a human being, and my work in general. Please enjoy!

“I had fun tonight,” Spencer Reid mumbled nervously as he walked hand-in-hand with his date, Derek Morgan. They were heading back toward Derek’s SUV from the Italian restaurant where Derek had chosen to celebrate their two-month anniversary.

 

“I’m glad you did, pretty boy,” Derek said in a low, seductive voice and leaned over to place a kiss on Spencer’s cheek. “I did too.”

 

They walked the rest of the way in silence. When they got to the SUV, Derek held the passenger side door open for Spencer and as soon as he was in, Derek rushed around to the driver’s side to sit behind the wheel. Derek immediately grabbed Spencer’s hand once more and gave it a light squeeze. Spencer looked over at Derek, a little nervous about what Derek’s enthusiastic mood might signify.

 

Derek smiled and looked Spencer in the eye. “Would you want to come home with me, pretty boy? Spend the night?”

 

Spencer’s eyes got wide and his face turned beet red. He’d been hoping that Derek wouldn’t ask him that question so early into their relationship, but he’d also been pessimistically expecting it based on Derek’s mood that afternoon.

 

“Um…” Spencer’s voice shook and came out higher than he wanted it to. He cleared his throat and tried again. “Even though I appreciate the offer, Derek, I would hate to rush into something like that so early on in our relationship. Statistics prove that couples who have sex early on in their relationships are more likely to fail than those who wait to – “

 

“Whoa slow down, kid. Slow down,” Derek said loud enough to interrupt Spencer’s ramblings but somehow managing to still keep a soothing tone. Derek then grabbed both of Spencer’s shoulders so that they were facing each other and gave Spencer a warm, affectionate smile. “I wasn’t talking about sex, pretty boy. I know you’re not ready for that yet and that is perfectly ok. I will _never_ force you to do _anything_ that you aren’t ready for or that makes you uncomfortable. All I was wondering is if you would want to come home with me, maybe watch a movie, and then cuddle in bed until we both fall asleep.”

 

Spencer visibly relaxed at Derek’s explanation and even went so far as to exclaim, “Oh thank god!” while reaching over and hugging Derek tightly. When he pulled back from the embrace, Spencer said, “I’m sorry I jumped to conclusions. I just don’t have like any experience when it comes to relationships or what to expect. I never meant to imply that I thought that you would make me do something that I was uncomfortable with. I know you would never do that. I can be so stupid – “

 

“Hey! Now you stop right there,” Derek said firmly. He hated it when Spencer put himself down.

 

Spencer immediately closed his mouth and flushed red again. He looked up at Derek with sad eyes and then averted his gaze and mumbled, “I’m sorry.”

 

“Hey, you made a perfectly logical misunderstanding. That’s nothing to be embarrassed about or to apologize for. If anyone should apologize, it should be me for not phrasing my words in a more understandable way.” Derek continued to smile lovingly at Spencer while he grabbed his chin and gently maneuvered his head so that Spencer was looking at him once again. “Now, are we going to sit here and argue all night, or are you going to answer my question?”

 

Spencer immediately brightened and gave Derek a happy smile. “I would love to go home with you Derek Morgan!”

 

“Well good!” Derek grabbed both of Spencer’s hands and brought them up to his lips and placed a kiss on each one, which caused Spencer to blush once more. Derek loved to make Spencer blush. “Then let’s get there, shall we?”

 

Spencer gave an enthusiastic nod, so Derek started the SUV and sped away toward his house.

 

* * *

 

 

Spencer was woken up from one of the most peaceful sleeps he had ever experienced by the incessant buzzing of his cell phone. He didn’t want to open his eyes, and upon further thought, he realized that opening his eyes wouldn’t make much of a difference to having his eyes closed because he didn’t have his contacts in so he really couldn’t really see anyway. By sound and touch alone, Spencer found his cell phone, turned it on, put it up to his ear, and grunted, “Reid. This better be good.”

 

“Well good morning to you too, sleepy head!” JJ’s overly chipper voice sounded over the line.

 

Spencer groaned and rubbed his other hand over his forehead, trying to clear away the morning fog. “Sorry, JJ. I was just having a really good night. What time is it?”

 

“It is 5:45 am and we have a case. Sorry to ruin your good night. The good news is that it is local so you won’t need your go-bag.”

 

Spencer thought that JJ sounded as if she were trying to persuade him to come in to work the case. ‘ _As if I had a choice_ ,’ Spencer thought. He stretched out his arm that had been on his forehead and, completely forgetting where he was and who he was with, accidentally smacked Derek right in the face. Spencer let out a surprised squeal and scooted over in bed so fast he fell out, landing directly on his back, knocking the wind out of himself.

 

Derek shouted in pain and surprise at being woken up with a smack in the face. He began to rub his face where he had been hit but when he heard the loud thump from Spencer falling out of bed, his pain and shock was immediately replaced with concern. He exclaimed, “Oh my god! Are you ok?” as he jumped out of bed and ran around the end to try to check on Spencer.

 

Right at that time, Derek’s golden retriever, Clooney, came bounding into the room to check to see what all the noise was about. Derek ran right into Clooney and tripped head over heels, landing on his stomach, letting out a pained, “Oof,” and skidding to a stop right next to where Spencer was still laying, trying to catch his breath.

 

Clooney gave out a surprised yelp at being tripped over but quickly recovered, running over to Derek and Spencer, barking the whole way. Clooney then tried to kiss his master better by licking him in as much of the face as he could get to.

 

All the while, JJ was still on the phone with Spencer and, having heard only one side of the whole incident, was shouting over the line, “Spence! Talk to me! What’s going on? Are you ok? If you don’t answer, I’m calling an ambulance! Is that a dog? When did you get a dog? What is all that noise? Spence? Spence!”

 

Derek could see that Spencer was still trying to catch his breath and couldn’t answer, so he reached over and grabbed the cell phone out of his hand. “JJ? It’s Morgan. No need to call an ambulance. Reid is ok. I think he just forgot where he was when he woke up and it was like dominos after that.”

 

“Morgan? Why is Spence at your house so early? Wait, he forgot where he was _when he woke up?_ He spent the night there?!”

 

“JJ, lower your voice a few octaves or I’m going to hang up on you,” Derek said tiredly.

 

“Sorry, sorry. I’m being nosy. You two continue whatever it is you were doing. Oh, and we’re meeting in an hour. We have a case, you know,” JJ spluttered and tried to regain some of her composure. “Sorry again. See you in an hour. Bye.” She hung up before Derek could say goodbye to her.

 

Derek laid the phone down, rolled his eyes, and looked over at Spencer, who was again flushed crimson and was biting his lower lip nervously. “Sorry,” he whispered. His eyes were big with worry over how Derek would react to his blunder.

 

Derek, however, took one look at Spencer, laying halfway on the floor with his legs still up in the bed, and burst out laughing. “You sure know how to wake someone up, pretty boy!”

 

Spencer chuckled nervously but then spluttered in disgust as Clooney suddenly licked his face. This made Derek laugh harder, which in turn, made Spencer start to laugh again.

 

“Come on, silly boy,” Derek said lovingly, getting to his feet and offering a helping hand to Spencer, “Let’s get ready for work.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Categories of Intersex People:
> 
> Category A - Males or Females with correct reproductive organs but also containing partially formed organs from the opposite gender (ex. A female child containing 100% of her correct reproductive organs but who also contains an under-formed, un-dropped testicle attached to her ovary or a male child containing 100% of his correct reproductive organs but who also contains a floating ovary)
> 
> Category B - Males or Females with correct reproductive organs but also containing fully formed organs from the opposite gender (ex. A male child containing 100% of his correct reproductive organs but who also contains a floating uterus and ovaries that are not attached to any other organ in the body or a female child containing 100% of her correct reproductive organs but who also contains fully formed, un-dropped testicles)
> 
> Category C - Males or Females with partially formed reproductive organs from both genders (ex. A child who has incomplete sets of both sexual organs, such as a child containing a uterus and vagina with vaginal opening, but instead of having ovaries, has a fully formed scrotum)
> 
> Category Q - This category only includes males and are males with full sets of both male and female reproductive organs but only the male organs are visible externally and the vaginal opening is located in the rectum
> 
> Category X - A person who is fully both male and female, having visible male reproductive organs as well as an external vaginal opening located behind the penis where the perineum should be on a "normal" male


	2. Just In Case

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so lots of dialogue in this chapter but I swear it's all necessary to set up for the rest of the story lol :) I hope you all enjoy this and I always appreciate comments and kudos!

Hotch was the last team member to enter the conference room an hour later. “Ok what have we got?” he asked as he sat down at the table.

 

JJ clicked the screen to life and began the briefing. “Ok in the last five months, five men have gone missing and have been found dead in and around Quantico. The first man, Anthony Gristhill, age 29, was an online grad school student and worked part time as a pizza delivery man. He went missing on December 3rd in Montclair, VA. He was studying with friends in the public library for an upcoming test. He left around 6:00pm to get ready for his work shift. Another library patron saw him start to walk down the sidewalk when a van pulled up next to him. The patron said the van driver looked like he was offering Anthony a ride to which he accepted. Anthony didn’t show up for his work shift that evening and when his family couldn’t get a hold of him, they went to check his house. It was empty with no signs of struggle so the family reported him missing. One month later, on January 5th, he was found dead in his own front yard.

 

“The second man, Frank McMann, age 26, was an independent mechanic who owned his own shop. He went missing on January 13th in Mount Vernon, VA. He called his wife, Bernadette, from the shop at around 4:30pm to say that he was going to work until around 6 and then head home. She made dinner and waited for him but he never came home. She called the shop at around 6:30 and got no answer so she made her way down there and found it empty and closed up as if Frank had left for the evening. After Bernadette reported Frank missing, a witness came forward who said he was walking past the shop at around 5:45pm and saw Frank step out and lock the door behind him. A man in a white van pulled in and asked Frank if he could ride around the block with him to try to see what was wrong with his engine. The witness said Frank looked like he knew the man because he agreed right away, got in, and the van drove off. Three weeks later, on February 2nd, Frank was found dead outside of his shop.

 

“The third man, Terence Wolf, age 28, worked two part-time jobs: he was a cemetery caretaker as well as a waiter at an Applebees. He went missing on February 7th in Fredericksburg, VA. There were no witnesses to his disappearance; he left Applebees at 8:00pm on the 7th and was supposed to show up again at 10:00am on the 8th but he never did. Co-workers thought this was very unusual so they called his family who checked his house but it was empty with no signs of a struggle. However, his car was found at his house so police assumed that he made it home before he was abducted. Two weeks later, on February 22nd, he was found dead in the cemetery where he was a caretaker.

 

“The fourth man, Andrew Wittaker, age 26, worked as a convenience store clerk and went missing on March 7th in Fort Hunt, VA. Video footage from outside of the store shows Andrew locking up at 11:00pm and a white van driving up and stopping right behind him. From the footage, it looks as if Andrew talks with the driver of the van for a moment, then goes around the van and gets in the passenger seat and then the van drives off. Andrew didn’t show up for his 11:00am shift at the store the next day but he had no family or friends to call so his employer waited three days and then called the police. When police checked his house, it was the same story: empty with no sign of a struggle. Two and a half weeks later, on March 26th, he was found dead in the dumpster outside of the convenience store where he worked.

 

“And the fifth man, Stephen Camden, age 27, worked as a barista at the Starbucks two blocks from here. He went missing on April 8th. Co-workers said he was in the habit of picking up rides from customers so no one thought it strange when they saw him leave in a white van after work. However it was strange for him not to show up to his shift the next day so a co-worker called Stephen’s girlfriend who broke into his apartment and found it empty, no signs of a struggle. One of the patrons of the Starbucks came in later claiming she remembered a partial license plate number from the van so that’s being run as we speak. Stephen was found last night, April 18th, in a park across the street from the Starbucks, making him missing for a week and a half.”

 

“So if this guy keeps to a schedule,” Rossi added, “we have right around a week, give or take, until he takes his next victim.”

 

“Why weren’t we called in on this sooner?” Derek demanded.

 

“He kept jumping police districts and counties so no one put it together until just recently,” JJ answered.

 

“What injuries did the victims have?” Hotch asked.

 

“All five men were severely sexually assaulted,” JJ responded. “Forensics gathered semen samples from all the victims but there was no DNA on file to match it. All five victims also had bruising around their wrists and upper arms. The MEs concluded that those were from restraints. The victims all had rashes and bedsores of varying degrees of severity from being kept in one place for so long and from being left in their own waste. All of victims’ legs had varying levels of atrophy in their muscles, also from being kept in one place for so long. All five victims were also heavily infested with lice and had scarring from rat bites. The tox screens on the victims showed extremely high levels of ketamine, lithium, diazepam, zolpidem, and alcohol.”

 

“Alcohol? Like _drinking_ alcohol?” Rossi asked in disbelief and JJ nodded. “How did he manage that?”

 

“The victims were probably force-fed,” Spencer answered absently, still intently studying the case file in front of him.

 

Hotch noticed that Spencer was a little distracted, which usually meant that he was on to something. “What have you got, Reid?”

 

“I don’t know. It may be nothing,” Spencer hedged, not wanting to give his team a false lead if his conclusion wasn’t correct.

 

“Come on, nothing is never just _nothing_ with you, pretty boy,” Derek coaxed him with a small smile on his face. “At least tell us what you’re thinking.”

 

“Well, all the victims look the same,” Spencer started in on his theory. “All of them are within the same height range: the shortest victim was 5’6” and the tallest victim was 5’10”. All of them had slim builds: the highest weight of them all was 135 pounds. None of them were extremely muscular; in fact one or two of them could be considered scrawny. All of them had longer hair than is in the norm for men. And all of them had features not common for most men: small noses, full lips, big eyes, narrower faces, wider hips, etc.”

 

“Ok, yeah most unsubs have a type that they stick to,” Derek said, not understanding where Spencer was going. “What’s your point?”

 

“My point is that these features all point to something. These men were not ‘normal’ men. Think about it. Their heights: 5’6” to 5’10” is fairly short compared to the average man. Their weights: 135 pounds is pretty thin for an average man, and that was the highest weight. They weren’t muscular. They had long hair, small noses, full lips, big eyes, etc. etc. And did you see what these men normally wore? Tight-fitting materials, bright colors and patterns –“

 

“So what you’re saying,” Rossi interrupted him before he could ramble anymore, “is that these men might have been homosexuals?”

 

“That’s a possibility, but not necessarily what I was getting at,” Spencer mumbled and refused to meet anyone’s eyes.

 

“So what _are_ you saying, Reid?” Hotch pushed. He was as confused as the rest of the team as to why Spencer seemed to be avoiding his main point.

 

“I’m asking,” Spencer began, then sighed and muttered quickly, “I’m asking if anyone checked to see if any of these men were intersexed?”

 

The room went silent as everyone stared at Spencer in varying degrees of confusion and surprise. Why was he so embarrassed by that question?

 

Hotch recovered first. He stared at Garcia and asked, “Well? Is that in any of the victim’s medical reports or autopsy records?”

 

Garcia took a moment to catch up to what Hotch was asking her, but then she exclaimed, “Oh! I-I will check on that right away!” She then got up from the table, left the room, and headed toward her tech office to check on the information.

 

“Alright, the rest of you,” Hotch spoke again to the group, “this is going to be a little tough since this case spans a couple different districts. JJ and Emily, I want you to briefly interview the victim’s families and friends as well as the witnesses to the abductions and whoever found each of the bodies. I know it’s a lot but they’ve all already been spoken to before by local law enforcement so I just want you to get general overviews in order form your own opinions. Rossi, you and I will travel to the different MEs who have handled the victims, starting with the latest one. Morgan, I want you and Reid to stay here to work on the geographical profile and then confer with Garcia when she gets the information you requested, Reid.” Hotch gave Derek a pointed look that told Derek that Hotch also wanted him to find out why Spencer was acting so shy and embarrassed all of a sudden.

 

Derek gave a little nod toward Hotch and then looked over at Spencer, who still had his nose in the case file and was refusing to look at anyone. He didn’t even acknowledge that Hotch had addressed him moments earlier.

 

“Alright everyone, get moving. We’ll keep in contact with each other and meet back here for the evening no later than 7pm. You’re allowed a lunch hour during your time as well,” Hotch concluded and stood up from the table.

 

Everyone followed Hotch’s lead and got up to start their assigned tasks. Everyone except Spencer, that is, who was still staring down at the file as if it were the most fascinating thing in the world.

 

When everyone else had left the room and the door was shut, Derek sat down next to Spencer, put one elbow on the table to cradle his head in that hand, and started talking to the young genius. “Talk to me, pretty boy. What’s going on with you?”

 

Spencer cleared his throat and mumbled, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He then closed the folder and got up from the table. He went to the far left corner of the conference room and pulled down a map from a roll bolted to the wall.

 

Derek got up from the table and followed Spencer over to the corner. “Please don’t turn away from me, baby boy,” he murmured, putting his hands on Spencer’s hips and nuzzling his nose into Spencer’s neck. Spencer let out a little moan of pleasure and moved his head aside to give Derek more skin to work with while covering Derek’s hands with his own. Derek slid his hands up to Spencer’s waist and slowly moved them forward so that his arms encircled him, bringing the smaller man into a loving, yet firm hug. He kissed up and down Spencer’s neck gently as he slowly rubbed his hands up and down Spencer’s flat, almost concave abdomen.

 

Spencer closed his eyes and sighed in contentment, enjoying the sudden attention Derek was lavishing on him. He knew that Derek was just trying to relax him so that he would tell him what the problem was, but despite Derek’s ulterior motives, Spencer had decided to just enjoy it while it lasted.

 

Soon enough, however, just as Spencer had predicted, Derek stopped kissing and gently asked, “Please tell me what’s wrong?”

 

Spencer sighed again, but this time in resignation. Then he turned around in Derek’s arms and, before Derek had time to react, Spencer kissed him on the lips, gripping Derek’s shoulders to hold him in place. A moment later, Spencer pulled out of the kiss and took a step back away from Derek. He held Derek’s gaze but he didn’t say anything.

 

Derek stared at him in confusion, his eyes wide and his eyebrows raised far up on his forehead. He cleared his throat and asked, “What was that for?”

 

Spencer took a deep breath and looked down at the floor before answering in a small voice, “In case you don’t want to have anything to do with me after I tell you.”

 

Derek visibly deflated and got a concerned look on his face. “Oh, Spencer…” he murmured and stepped forward to bring Spencer back into his arms, but Spencer took another step back away from him, his back hitting the wall behind him.

 

Spencer gave him a sad little smile and shook his head slightly. He looked Derek in the eyes and quickly explained, “This is nothing against you personally, Derek. I just don’t want to get my hopes up and think that you’ll still want me. I knew I would have to tell you eventually but I was hoping to put it off for a while. I see now that I can’t. I trust you, Derek, I really do! But I’ve trusted others in the past and… well let’s just say it never worked out the way I hoped…” Spencer looked back down toward the floor when he said the last part. He then took another deep breath, looked back up into Derek’s confused and slightly hurt eyes, and continued. “So this time, I’m just not going to hope either way. Whatever happens, happens. I just wanted to get in one last kiss… just in case.” Spencer gave Derek one last sad smile and then waited for Derek to respond in some way.

 

Derek knit his brow at Spencer’s words and his mouth turned into a little frown. He took a moment to collect his thoughts, then gave Spencer a little nod. “I wish you could trust me,” he ended up finally whispering.

 

Spencer’s face fell and he took a step toward Derek. He dry-washed his hands together and emphatically said, “No! That’s not it. I _do_ trust you. I _do_.” He then nervously reached out to gently grip Derek’s hands and added, “I trust you not to hurt me. But I don’t want you to hurt yourself while trying not to hurt me. You’re too good of a man to just let me go, even if you wanted to. That’s why I’m telling you that I’ll understand no matter what and that you can break it off after this if you want to.” He let out a shuttering breath and squeezed Derek’s hands. “I… I l-love you, Derek. But I don’t want to hold you back if you decide that my… _condition_ is too much to handle.”

 

Instantly, Derek got a worried look on his face. “Condition? Spencer, are you sick or something?”

 

“No, I’m not sick,” Spencer answered. He let go of Derek’s hands and walked back to the conference table, placing his palms on the tabletop and leaning his weight onto his arms. He hung his head and stared at the glossy surface, wetting his lips with his tongue. “My body is intersexed,” he whispered, barely audible.

 

“Ok…” Derek answered, not understanding the full implications of what Spencer had just said or why it would be so hard for him to tell Derek this.

 

Spencer turned around to face Derek again, and then he sat on the table, crossing his legs at the knee. Still not looking directly at Derek, Spencer went into full explanatory mode, his voice detaching from any emotions he may have been feeling. “There are currently five categories of intersexed humans, listed as A, B, C, Q, and X. A child is declared a category A if that child’s sexual organs include an internal part that is not complementary with his or her predominant gender. For example, a female child containing all of her correct sexual organs but also contains an un-dropped testicle attached to her ovary would be considered at category A. Or a male child containing all of his correct sexual organs but also contains a floating ovary would be considered a category A.”

 

Spencer took a breath. He knew he was rambling but Derek was letting him so he continued with his lecture. “A child is declared a category B if that child’s sexual organs include most or all of the opposite, non-predominant gender’s sexual organs as well. However, the opposite sex’s organs must be internal and not visible externally in order to qualify as category B. For example, a male child with a floating uterus and ovaries that are not attached to any other organ in the body, or a female child with fully formed, un-dropped testicles, would both be considered category B.

 

“A child is declared a category C if that child has incomplete sets of both sexual organs. For example, the child might have a uterus and vagina with vaginal opening, but instead of having ovaries, the child might have a fully formed scrotum.

 

“Categories A and B are usually capable of producing either eggs or sperm, depending on the predominant gender, as well as able to form and carry a fetus to full term if the predominant gender is female. These categories of intersexed humans have the same statistics for child-bearing as conventional males and females. Category C’s are sometimes capable of producing either eggs or sperm, but 92% of humans in this category are sterile. However, category C is also the rarest category so the percentage compared to conventional males and females is still considerably small.

 

“Categories Q and X are where gender classifications become a little difficult. To be declared a category Q, a person must have both genders’ fully-formed and working sets of sexual organs. However, instead of the vaginal opening being external, it is attached to the rectum diagonally so that the opening is still pointing down. 100% of category Q’s are declared male at birth and are usually not identified until puberty, with the start of a menstrual cycle, unless an internal scan, such as an ultrasound, or some sort of invasive surgery is performed before puberty.

 

“Much like a category Q, a category X must have both fully-formed and working sets of sexual organs, but unlike category Q, category X must have an external vaginal opening. In 100% of recorded cases thus far, the person’s urethra runs through the penis, and the labia, located right behind the scrotum, contains the vaginal opening into the female reproductive organs. 98% of parents declare their category X child as male at birth, but around 12% of those people change their gender to female or non-specific later on in life.

 

“Both categories Q and X are capable of producing both eggs and sperm and both categories experience a menstrual cycle. Also, both categories have the ability to implant sperm to create a fetus, as well as accept sperm to carry a fetus. These categories also have noticeable physical differences from most males and females as well as from intersexed people classified as categories A, B, or C. A category A, B, or C is usually born either masculine or feminine in regards to features because one gender is favored over another. However, categories Q and X have both gender’s hormones in relatively equal amounts which results in either an effeminate male or a masculine female, depending on how the person wishes to be viewed… That’s why I asked if any of the victims could be intersexed: because they all had feminine qualities but were classified as males. Of course, that doesn’t mean that any of the victims are in fact intersexed. There are many androgynous people who are _not_ intersexed. It was just my theory…”

 

Spencer trailed off and looked up at Derek. His words had come out quicker than Spencer had intended and, after Derek was silent for a few moments, he began to wonder if Derek had understood anything he’d said.

 

Finally Derek took a deep breath, shifted his weight to his other foot, and said, “I did not know that. So… which category are you?” However, Derek had the feeling if Spencer was a category A, B, or C, he wouldn’t have taken the time to deliver the _entire_ lecture.

 

Spencer swallowed, looked at his knees, and answered in a tiny voice, “Category Q.”

 

Derek nodded his head at his confirmed suspicions and then slowly walked over to where Spencer was still sitting on the table. “Ok, so you kinda look like a girl, and you have a uterus, a period, and can have babies… What part of that was supposed to make me run screaming into the night?”

 

Spencer’s head shot up and his nervous yet hopeful eyes met Derek’s amused ones. “You’re not freaked out?” Spencer asked quietly, as if he thought Derek wasn’t being honest.

 

“I have to admit, it’s different,” Derek conceded. He then put his hands on Spencer’s shoulders and touched his forehead to the young genius’s. “But I love you for who you are, Spencer Reid. No matter how many extra organs you have.” Derek smiled and pulled away so he could plant a kiss on Spencer’s forehead. Before this conversation, neither of them had said ‘ _I love you_ ’ to the other, but after hearing Spencer say it (and Derek seemingly brushing over it without a second thought in light of him being worried that Spencer might be sick), Derek decided to finally acknowledge his reciprocation of Spencer’s feelings.

 

Spencer blinked and opened and shut his mouth a couple times, floundering to find a response to Derek’s declaration. “You… You _love_ me?” he finally croaked out.

 

“Yes,” Derek answered gently, placing a tender kiss on Spencer’s mouth. “Yes, I do.”


	3. Did You Lose Your Virginity?!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been such a long time since I've updated this story so I've messed anything up or added something not consistent with the previous two chapters, please let me know! I love writing this story but I hit a little bit of a road block with it unfortunately so that's why it took me so long in between updates. I'll try to do better in the future! As always, I love feedback so comments and kudos are greatly appreciated. Please enjoy!

Despite the fact that he was working on a case where people had be murdered, Spencer couldn’t help but keep a little smile on his face for the remainder of the workday. He just couldn’t believe that Derek had said that he loved him! But each passing glance or “accidental” touch of the hand between the two only reaffirmed to Spencer that Derek had been serious.

 

The two worked on the geographical profile as well as some victimology until 7:00 when the rest of the team started streaming back into the office. JJ and Emily came back first and went up to the conference room to join Derek, Spencer, and Garcia.

 

JJ gave Spencer a sideways glance and he groaned inwardly, knowing that she wanted to ask him about what was going on between him and Derek. Spencer hadn’t meant for her to find out like she had (or _when_ she had, for that matter), but that couldn’t be helped now.

 

Spencer turned away from her and back towards the map, pretending to concentrate on it, but he cursed to himself when he felt a delicate hand land on his shoulder. He turned his head and, sure enough, JJ was standing right beside him with a look of concern and curiosity on her face. “Spence, can I talk to you?”

 

Spencer sighed and brought his hands up to rub his eyes. “Listen, I know what you want to talk about but… maybe we can do this after the case is over?”

 

“Why can’t we talk now?” JJ asked, stepping fully in front of Spencer when he tried to turn back to the map. “Hotch isn’t here yet. Morgan, Emily, and Pen are all over in the corner talking about _something_ or the other. Why can’t you just give me a few minutes to explain what I overheard this morning?”

 

Spencer bit his bottom lip and looked uncertain for a moment. Then he gave a hesitant half-smile and said, “Would you believe that Derek stopped by my place early this morning and brought his dog?”

 

JJ laughed and said, “No I would not.” She shook her head but kept a smile on her face and her voice had a joking tone. “No, Morgan said that you’d forgotten where you were when you woke up. So let me ask you… where did you wake up this morning?”

 

Spencer groaned and rolled his eyes, sure that JJ knew the answer to the question she was asking… she just wanted to hear Spencer say it out loud! “Alright, fine!” he softly exclaimed, looking over at the other group in the room to make sure that they were all still occupied with each other. “I spent the night at Derek’s house last night, ok? Are you happy now?”

 

JJ smiled a little wider and answered with another question. “Why did you spend the night there?”

 

Spencer sighed exasperatedly and hugged his arms around himself. “Isn’t it possible that we just had a guy’s night and it got too late so I spent the night on his couch?”

 

JJ smirked and shook her head again. “Nope. If I had woken you up from a night on the couch, I doubt there would have been _that_ much commotion, Spence.”

 

Spencer let out a low growl of frustration. He did _not_ like people prying into his private life! Yes, JJ was like a sister to him, but he still felt like he should be able to keep _some_ things to himself. Plus, and he was almost ashamed to admit this, he distinctly felt that telling people so early on in their relationship would be jinxing the whole thing and then it would all fall apart…

 

But then again… it _would_ feel good to tell someone about his relationship… and this _was_ JJ… maybe he could trust her?

 

Spencer sighed and decided to take the chance. “Alright, but you _cannot_ tell anyone about this, ok?” He waited until JJ had nodded before he continued. “Yesterday was… our two month anniversary.”

 

JJ’s eyes grew wide and her mouth fell open slightly in shock. “Two months?” she whispered as if she couldn’t believe what she was saying.

 

Spencer bit his lower lip again and nodded hesitantly, unsure of JJ’s reaction to his statement. “Y-Yeah… a-are you angry?”

 

JJ suddenly smiled and shook her head. “No, I’m not angry, Spence! Not at all! It’s about time you two got together! I’m just a little surprised that I didn’t notice right away. I mean, I’ve only really seen a change in you starting maybe two _weeks_ ago!”

 

It was now Spencer’s turn to be shocked at JJ’s words. He blinked a few times, then spluttered out, “Wh-What do you mean, it’s about time?!”

 

“Oh come on, Spence,” JJ said patiently, her smile growing wider at Spencer’s confusion and shock. “It’d be hard _not_ to notice the googly-eyed stare you always direct toward Morgan! And he’s just as bad as you. He undresses you with his eyes, like _all_ the time! We were all wondering when you two would realize that you wanted to jump each other’s bones.”

 

Spencer couldn't seem to find a response to JJ’s words, his voice gone as he just opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water.

 

His silence just egged JJ on, however, and her grin turned into a smirk. “What _I_ want to know is what _happened_ two weeks ago that made me notice a change in you… Oh my god, did you lose your virginity?!”

 

That broke Spencer’s silence and he lunged forward to slap a hand over JJ’s mouth as he hissed, “JJ, be quiet!”

 

JJ was overcome with silent laughter and Spencer rolled his eyes and let her go, realizing that she had just been joking. He then sighed and averted his eyes. “Can… can I talk to you… maybe later… um… about the whole… _virginity_ thing?” he asked in a small voice.

 

JJ instantly became serious and said, “Of course, Spence. You can always talk to me… about _anything_.”

 

Spencer smiled slightly and looked up at JJ once more. “Thanks.”

 

Before they could say anything else, Hotch came striding into the room, a weary look on his face. “Alright everyone,” he said in a tired voice. “Let’s go over what we’ve got.”

 

The room grew quiet as everyone took their seats around the table and then expectantly stared up at their unit chief.

 

Hotch cleared his throat and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration as he let out a sigh. “It turns out the autopsy reports weren’t complete,” he started in the same tired voice. A collective groan came from the other team members, aside from Rossi who already knew this information, having helped Hotch with the interview. This wasn’t the first time they had run into problems like these. “The same ME conducted all of the autopsies and for each one, he conveniently forgot to add that each victim had scraping in his throat consistent with the long-term use of feeding tubes _and_ that each victim also had fertility drugs present in his system at the time of death.”

 

“Why would the same ME conduct all of the autopsies when they occurred in different districts?” JJ asked with some surprise, her eyebrows shooting up almost into her hairline.

 

“That’s something that we need to find out,” Rossi said, a thoughtful look on his face. “The ME said he didn’t _know_ why all the bodies had been sent to him, but he _did_ say that he was _instructed_ to leave the bits out of the reports that he did.”

 

“Who instructed him?” Emily probed, looking skeptical.

 

“He showed us notes, supposedly one from the police chief of each district that a victim was found in, saying that each victim’s family requested those parts be left out,” Hotch responded, looking more and more like he needed a vacation from the rest of the world… or a stiff drink. “But, the most suspicious aspect is that every note was written in almost the exact same words with just a few variations.”

 

“You think all the notes were sent by the same person,” Derek put forth, more stating than asking a question.

 

“I do, but we need to make sure by talking to each police chief individually,” Hotch said as he massaged his temples with his index fingers. “What did the rest of you figure out?”

 

“Well, the families didn’t have much more to add than what they’d already told police,” Emily said, her voice bordering on apologetic.

 

“I don’t know if it’s important, but Anthony Gristhill’s mother said that he was a homosexual and that he _was_ born a Category B intersexed person,” JJ said, looking down at her handwritten notes. “Terence Wolf’s sister said that he was bisexual but that he _wasn’t_ any type of intersex. The rest of the victims’ families, friends, and coworkers didn’t know one way or the other about the victims’ sexual preferences or gender, even though Bernadette McMann assured, quite _vehemently_ , that her husband was as straight as a board.”

 

“So none of them mentioned anything about telling the police to withhold certain details from the autopsy reports?” Rossi asked, leaning forward and clasping his hands together on the table.

 

“Nope, none said anything even _remotely_ like that,” Emily answered, sighing slightly at the conundrum the case was presenting.

 

“Huh, you’d think that if the families _did_ talk to the police, at least _one_ person would have mentioned _something_ ,” Rossi said, bringing further skepticism toward the notes the ME had presented.

 

“And was there a note mentioning Andrew Wittaker’s family?” Spencer asked suddenly, a detail popping into his mind. “Because I remember the records showing that he _had_ no family or close friends.”

 

A note of surprise and realization ran around the room at Spencer’s words and Hotch immediately shuffled through the notes, which were bagged as evidence and laying before him. “Yes, there is a note from the district police chief mentioning Wittaker’s family.”

 

“So now we pretty much _know_ that those notes were faked,” Derek exclaimed, folding his arms across his chest in anger.

 

“We still need to talk to each police chief just to make sure, but yeah, that would be my guess,” Rossi said as he smirked slightly in resignation, not humor.

 

“Alright, Reid, Garcia, and Morgan, what about you? What did you find out?” Hotch asked as he continued to flip through the evidence in front of him.

 

“Well, after looking though the full autopsy reports, I’ve concluded that the ME either doesn’t know what he’s doing or he’s been hiding more than he’s admitted to,” Garcia said, passing out reports that had highlighter marks all over them to each of the team members except for Spencer, who already had one laying before him.

 

“Garcia’s right,” Spencer conceded as he quickly reread the report. “The fact that Gristhill was a Category B should have been noted, but there’s nothing in here about it. Also, by looking through each victim’s medical records, Garcia found that Wittaker was a Category A, which also wasn’t on _his_ autopsy report. The fact that this unsub had two intersexed people in his victim pool is _huge_! Even though intersexed people aren’t rare, they also aren’t incredibly common, making up only 32% of the entire American population. This unsub would have had to be actively searching for intersexed people, or people who look like they are, in order for his victims to be who they were. His victims aren’t random.”

 

“So you think that’s this guy’s endgame?” Derek asked, a confused scowl on his face. “To abduct and abuse intersexed males?”

 

Spencer sighed and closed his eyes momentarily, trying to piece everything together in his mind. “I’m not sure if that’s his _absolute_ goal,” he said slowly, opening his eyes to stare at the other members of the team. “But I’m certain that is has _something_ to do with what he wants… whatever _that_ may be.”

 

“Ok, what about the geographic profile?” Hotch asked as he leaned back in his chair and folded his arms against his chest.

 

“Well, according to the pretty little pictures that Spencer drew on the map over there,” Derek said as he pointed to the corner of the room, a slight smile stretching his lips. “The unsub’s home territory, and the center of all of his attacks, seems to be right here in Quantico.”

 

Hotch nodded then looked over at Garcia. “Is the run from the partial license plate back?”

 

“Yes but since it was just a partial, the only thing that can be confirmed is that it is indeed a Virginia plate,” Garcia said dejectedly, to which Derek laid a hand on her should and squeezed it in a show of support.

 

“Alright, good work everyone but we still have a long way to go,” Hotch said as he stood up from his seat. “Garcia, I want you to look up every plate that could possibly match what we have as a partial and then narrow the results down to only the ones specifically owned by people who live in Quantico. Morgan and Emily, I’d like the both of you to help Garcia by trying to come up with different scenarios that could narrow the results down even further. Look for people connected with the ME or any of the district police officers. Reid, I want you to call the ME and figure out if he’s hiding anything else. JJ, I want you to schedule a press conference for tomorrow morning. By then we should have a workable profile. Rossi, you and I will be calling the police chiefs to see what’s going on with those notes. Now, I know that we usually get a dinner break for cases like these, but we can’t afford to take a break and leave the office so, someone order dinner and we’ll eat while we work.”

 

Without another word, Hotch gathered up the evidence bags and his notes and strode out of the conference room, Rossi hot on his heels.

 

JJ sighed and stood up next, stretching her arms above her head. She then swept her gaze over the remaining members of the team, a resigned look on her face. “I guess I’ll order dinner. What’s everyone in the mood for?”

 

“I could go for Chinese,” Emily said as she leaned back in her chair.

 

Spencer groaned and put his head in his hands, which caused everyone to laugh.

 

Derek reached over and, under the cover of the table, placed his hand on Spencer’s thigh. “Don’t worry, pretty boy,” he said fondly as he smirked at Spencer. “We’ll let you use a fork.”

 

JJ shook her head in amusement but pulled her cellphone out and started to dial anyway. “Alright, Chinese it is.”

 

After she’d placed quite a large order so that everyone could just pick what they wanted a la carte, Spencer stood up and said, “I’ll go pick it up.”

 

Derek gave Spencer a confused look and said, “Really?” Usually if a case was going on, Spencer almost refused to leave whatever office space they were occupying at the time for fear of missing some important piece of information.

 

“Yeah, there’s a Starbucks right beside the restaurant and I’d like to get some decent coffee,” Spencer answered as he gathered up his paperwork to drop off at his desk on the way through the bullpen.

 

Derek chuckled as he too got up from his chair. “I should have known you had some ulterior motive in mind.”

 

Spencer just smiled and walked out of the conference room and down to his desk.

 

Derek watched him put on his coat and pick up his messenger bag, then walk toward the glass doors that separated the bullpen from the hallway. After Spencer had gotten onto the elevator and was no longer in sight, Derek turned away from the window and stared at Garcia. “Well, baby girl, how bout we get started on this research while the kid gets his coffee fix. If we work fast, we might still get out of here before midnight.”

 

“Sounds good, chocolate honey bunches of oats!” Garcia exclaimed as she got up from her seat and headed for the door.

 

Derek shook his head but followed her out, completely missing the way Emily rolled her eyes before she too followed Garcia.

 

* * *

 

 

Spencer didn’t need to ask what restaurant JJ called the order into. They always ordered their Chinese from the same place for two reasons. One, it was the closest to the office so anyone going to pick up the food could just walk there instead of drive. And two, it really _was_ the best place for Chinese in Quantico.

 

So, as he stepped out of the front doors and hugged his coat a little tighter around him, he knew exactly in what direction he should go. It was a fairly short walk but Spencer was chilled by the time he got to Starbucks. It was the middle of September so it wasn’t really _cold_ outside, but Spencer, having grown up in the middle of the desert, found any temperature below 75 degrees to be chilly.

 

Starbucks was practically empty so Spencer didn’t have to wait in line. He decided to order everyone coffee, so when he walked back out of the coffee shop, he was precariously balancing two cup carriers in his arms while trying to keep his coat wrapped around him.

 

There was a small alley between Starbucks and the Chinese restaurant and, as Spencer was passing it, he tripped over something. Pitching forward, he held the coffee to his chest so he wouldn’t spill it as he tried to catch himself. Luckily, a few running steps helped him regain his balance… and he’d only spilled a little bit of the coffee!

 

When he turned around to see what he’d tripped over, however, he was surprised to see that there really wasn’t anything in the way that would have caused him to fall. He walked over closer to where he’d lost his footing, bending over slightly as he struggled to see in the dim light. Suddenly, something hard struck him in the back of the neck and he went down hard.

 

Spencer tasted blood, having accidentally bit down on his tongue when he hit the pavement, but all that his stunned brain could think was, ‘ _Oh no… I dropped the coffee.’_ Then, before he could even begin to try to understand what was going on, he was hit again in the same spot. His vision blurred and his body went lax as he faded into unconsciousness.


	4. It's Going to be Bad

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my goodness, I am SO terribly sorry that it's been almost a year since I updated this story (and quite a while since I updated any of my others too). I honestly didn't think it'd been that long :( Real life has been super hectic and it just never calmed down (it's still quite hectic but I'm trying to make time to write every day). Anyway, I can't apologize enough but I can't promise to update in a timely manner either because I never know what the next day is going to bring me. Therefore, I am going to propose this on every story I update until I get enough responses:
> 
> I have a TON of story starts (from a couple different fandoms, most of them CM) stored away on my computer that I work on when the inspiration strikes. Therefore, would you all rather I sporadically update the stories I already have posted with no guarantee of timely chapter updates, or would you rather I post new starts more often so that when I don't have time to write, you all at least know I'm still alive and you at least have something new to read.
> 
> I will do whatever the most people want (because I know that some prefer updates to new additions while others just want something to read). So, yeah, I apologize once again for seemingly randomly falling off the planet and I will honestly try not to do that again but I can unfortunately make no promises. In any case, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Derek was frantic with worry.  When an hour had passed and Spencer still hadn’t returned with the food and coffee, Derek had called him, expecting Spencer to answer and say that the food hadn’t been ready or that he’d gotten distracted by all the different coffee flavors or something.  Instead, all he’d gotten was Spencer’s voicemail.

 

After calling him numerous times and leaving a few heated messages about how Spencer needed to answer his phone and what Derek would do to him if he didn’t, Derek decided to take a different approach.  He called the Chinese restaurant to ask if anyone had picked up the food reserved by JJ.  When they said no and that it was still sitting there taking up room on their counter, Derek’s blood ran cold and he hung up without another word.

 

Without even thinking about what he was doing, he shot up out of his seat and ran out of Garcia's office, ignoring Emily's and Garcia's worried shouts behind him.  Derek rushed into Hotch's office without knocking, interrupting a conversation between him and Rossi, and nearly shouted, “Spencer’s missing… again!”

 

Hotch blinked once, his mouth still open from where he had been talking, and then stood up from his chair and walked over to Derek, reaching out to shut the door behind his frazzled agent.  “Morgan, calm down and tell me what happened.”

 

“JJ ordered Chinese food,” Derek began as he started to pace around the office.  “Spencer went to go pick it up because he wanted to stop by Starbucks for coffee.  That was an _hour_ ago!  I tried to call him 6 or 7 times but each time it went to his voicemail so I eventually called the restaurant to see if he picked up the food and they said that no one ever came!”

 

Hotch’s eyes went a little wide at Derek’s account and Rossi opened his mouth to say something, but before anything could happen, a knock came on Hotch’s door.  “Come in,” he called.

 

Emily, Garcia, and JJ were all standing in the doorway, looking between Hotch and Derek worriedly.  “What’s going on?” Emily asked, posing the question to the room at large.

 

“Spencer hasn’t come back yet and no one picked up the food,” Derek said grimly, barely containing the panic that was rising within him.

 

“Alright Morgan, you and Emily go investigate,” Hotch said, stepping in before any of the girls could answer.  “The rest of us will continue to work the case until we have more details.”

 

Without even looking at Emily, Derek pushed everyone aside and practically ran toward the elevators.

 

“Morgan, wait up,” Emily called, easily catching up to him and slipping in the elevator with him.  After a few tense seconds of silence, Emily turned to Derek and said, “Listen, I’m sure it’s just a misunderstanding.  He’s probably on his way back right now.”

 

Derek signed and brought his hand up to rub down over his face.  “I hope you’re right, girl,” he said sadly, his eyes misting up with emotion that he quickly swallowed back down.  “But I have a really bad feeling about this.”

 

Emily didn’t respond, but she quietly felt the same.  Something was wrong… and it was going to be bad.

 

* * *

 

 

After Derek pulled the government sanctioned black SUV up into a space between the Starbucks and the Chinese restaurant and put it into park, he quickly got out of the driver’s seat and almost ran toward the store.  If the situation would have been any less serious, Emily would have rolled her eyes at his actions.  However, as it was, she understood his urgency and quickly followed him without a word.

 

They were planning on heading into the Starbucks first to ask if someone matching Spencer’s description had been in to buy coffee, but Emily quickly yelled out, “Morgan, stop!” when they passed the alleyway between the two stores.

 

“What?  What is it?” Derek asked urgently as he turned around and focused wide eyes at Emily.

 

Emily didn’t answer right away, instead walking into the alley where she had caught a glimpse of something disturbingly familiar.  Keeping an eye on what she honestly hoped wasn’t what she thought it was, Emily continued walking until she rounded a dumpster and stopped dead in her tracks.

 

“Emily?” Derek called as he followed her in a half-jog.  Right before he reached her, however, he spotted what had caught Emily’s attention and stopped, a gasped, “No!” escaping his lips.

 

Peeking out from behind the other side of the dumpster, Derek could see what looked ominously like the brown leather strap of a messenger bag.

 

Emily looked over at Derek, a sad glint in her eyes, before she crouched down next to the ground and pulled a pen out of her pocket.

 

Derek rushed forward to stand next to Emily, his heart sinking painfully down into his stomach when he saw the familiar messenger bag looking as if it had just been tossed down to the ground, the contents scattered haphazardly around the open main pocket.  His breath caught in his throat when he looked over to Emily, who was reaching carefully forward with the pen to flip open a small, grey billfold.

 

Emily sighed heavily and Derek ran his hands over his face when they were both confronted with Spencer’s driver’s license.  There was now no doubt that something bad had definitely happened to the BAU’s lovable genius.

 

“Look at this,” Emily said softly, bringing Derek out of his thoughts.

 

He dropped his hands from his face and looked to where Emily was pointing out a pile of crumpled Styrofoam coffee cups, Starbucks labels barely visible, and a cup carrier, all halfway hidden under the dumpster.  They looked as if they had been hurriedly kicked there before the bag was thrown down to complete the scene.

 

“So he made it to the coffee shop and was jumped on his way to pick up the food?” Derek asked, shifting back into ‘work-mode.’  Even though he was worried beyond belief, he knew that the only way they were going to get Spencer back, hopefully unscathed, was if the rest of the remaining team had their heads on straight.

 

“Looks like it,” Emily confirmed as she stood back and turned toward Derek.  “Why don’t you go ask around in the coffee shop to see if you can pinpoint the time that Reid was there and I’ll call in a crime scene unit.”

 

Derek nodded and made his way out of the alley while Emily pulled her cellphone out of her pocket.  When he rounded the corner, Derek leaned back against the brick wall of the building, taking just a moment to compose himself.  He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths, repeating to himself that Spencer would be ok.  He _had_ to be ok.  Derek didn’t know what he would do if Spencer wasn’t ok when this whole situation was resolved.

 

Derek sighed and pushed those thoughts out of his mind as best as he could.  Thinking like that right now wouldn’t help anyone.  With his resolve once more in place, Derek pushed himself off the wall and headed toward the coffee shop, sending out a few comforting thoughts in Spencer’s direction, hoping against hope that _somehow_ the genius would feel the emotion and understand.  ‘ _Just hang on, kid.  We’re coming to get you.  Don’t give up!’_


End file.
